I'm Here
by Tiggy the Hopeless Romantic
Summary: Sometimes there aren't words. Happy Birthday, Truffles!


For my mini-me, Truffles. The Lea to my Idina, who I love very much! To many more years of amazing friendship! Know I'm always here for you. And thanks to my lovely daughter, Poppy for creative help, although that story got scrapped because I got writer's block. Love you lots, too!

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In time, the two roommies fell into a pattern. Most evenings they would go to dinner with their friends and come home together, doing homework, studying, or gossiping (Galinda loved these nights best, but Elphaba didn't always have the patience for it). However on occasion, one or the other would make some plan without the other, not getting home until late. Elphaba would never admit it, but she found herself hating the nights where she was left alone, without Galinda's noisy, well meaning prattle in the background. Then again, what could she say? It wasn't like Galinda wasn't allowed to go out on her own- particularly with her own boyfriend. More than once she'd invited Elphaba to tag along- but she was a firm believer in that being stuck home alone was better than being the third wheel.

Perhaps not, though, because being home alone gave her far too much time to think about recent events. She'd never told anyone about the glass bottle, about her mother. Who had there been to tell? Nessarose and their father both knew, of course. No one else paid enough to attention to her to care. Frex had been the one to put the idea into her head that it was her fault. Nessa had stated the opposite, but how could she know about the events of her own birth? It was because of _her_, her skin, her wrongness that her mother had decided to chew the milk flowers, because of _her_ she'd died, becasue of _her_ Nessa couldn't walk. She'd lived with the guilt for nearly all of her life.

Who said Galinda knew anything? True, Elphaba hadn't been the one to tell her mother to chew the flowers, she hadn't killed her own mother- but it wouldn't have happened had it not been for her green skin. No one could blame her parents for wanting a normal, beautiful child- and Nessarose was a beautiful, pink skinned daughter, something Elphaba had failed at. But as a consequence, their mother had lost her life.

Galinda had told her that no matter how many people believed it, even if she believed it, it didn't mean it was true. But she hadn't been there, she didn't know. She hadn't spent eighteen years being told she was at fault for her own mother's death.

She wasn't sure when she started crying- she hated crying, hated being weak or emotional. It was a mix or hormones, chemicals in the brain released, supposedly to make her feel better. It didn't seem to be working so well. She didn't know how late it was, but eventually the door swung open, Galinda smiling brightly at the pleasant night out, hoping to catch up with her roommate and gossip, just a little before bed. She was shocked to see her friend so upset. "Elphie, what happened?" She shrugged off her coat and dropped her purse, letting them both fall to the floor in front of the door. She launched herself onto her friend's bed, hugging her before she had a chance to answer. "Are you alright?"

Elphaba laid her head back against her pillows, not knowing where to begin, so, "I'm fine," was all she managed to say.

"No you aren't-"

"Please," she said, unable to find the right words. Galinda pursed her lips and nodded, giving her a last squeeze before climbing off the bed and disappearing into the closet. She changed into a night dress and found one of Elphaba's and helped her change into it. She didn't question, something Elphaba was grateful for. She just said, "Elphie, if you want to talk, or need to talk, I'm right here." She grabbed an extra pillow off of her own bed and climbed back into Elphaba's, hoping that her physical presence would be comforting, even if she didn't know the right words to say.

Once Galinda was asleep, Elphaba simply mouthed, "Thank you," to the quiet, and wondered if maybe her best friend did know a thing or to.


End file.
